Councilmember Sharon Ambrose
Councilmember Phil Mendelson
A BILL IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Councilmembers Mendelson and Ambrose introduced the following bill which was referred
to the Committee on Finance and Revenue.
To exempt from the tax imposed on personal property the personal property of any
person, corporation or partnership with annual gross receipts of three hundred and fifty
thousand dollars or less.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that this act may be cited as
the "Small Business Personal Property Tax Exemption Act of 2001 ".
Sec. 2. Section 47-1508(a) of the District of Columbia Code is amended to read as
follows:
"(a) Each year the District shall levy a tax against every person on the tangible
personal property owned or held in trust in that person’s trade or business in the
District with gross receipts of $350,000 or more. The rate of tax shall be $3.40 for each
$100 of value of the taxable personal property.
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,
approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code §1-233(c)(3)).
Sec. 4. Effective date. This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or
in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council of the District of Columbia to
override the veto), approval by the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance
Authority as provided in section 203(a) of the District of Columbia Financial
Responsibility and Management Authority Act of 1995, approved April 17, 1995 (109 Stat.
116; D.C. Code § 47-392.3(c)), and a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in
section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973
(Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-233(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia
Register.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Julia Friedman
Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Office of Research and Analysis
(Corrected Copy)
February 2, 2001
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
At-Large Councilmember
Council of the District of Columbia .
441 4th Street, NW – Suite 720
Washington, DC 20001
Dear Councilmember Mendelson:
This letter comes as a follow up to your request that the Office of the
Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) provide you with revenue neutral language that could be
introduced in Council that could be used to change the basis of collection for the
District’s personal property tax from the amount of personal property owned to the amount
of gross receipts collected.
In the Office of Tax and Revenue’s (OTR) fiscal impact statement on
Bill 13-161, the service Improvement Act of 1999, which exempted the first $50,000 of
personal property from taxation it was estimated that such an exemption would reduce
personal property tax revenue collections by approximately $6 million annually. Based on
this figure, preliminary estimates indicate that a cutoff threshold of $350,000 in gross
receipts would yield a similar result.
Attached you will find a copy of the draft language that you requested.
Should you have additional questions, please contact Nathan Francis of my staff at
727-0378.
Respectfully,
Julia Friedman, Ph.D.
Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Attachment
441 4th Street, N.W., Suite 1150N, Washington, D.C. 20001 202/727-2476 www.dccfo.com